Door lock



' NV- 11, l958 I J. E. MARTENS l-:T AL 2,859,998

DooR Loox Filed gan. 1o. 195e ATTORNEYS 2,859,998 DOOR LOCK .lack E. Martens, Detroit, and Donald C. Beyer, Dearborn, Mich., assignors to Ford Motor Company, Dear? bom, M1011-, a corporation of Delaware Application January 10, 1956, Serial No. 558,216 s Claims. (ci. 292-280) This invention relates generally to latch mechanisms for doors and particularly to latch mechanisms of the rotatable bolt type for motor vehicle doors. l

An object of this invention is to provide an improved door latch mechanism of the type having arotatable bolt and a rotatable ratchet controlled by means of a piv.- otally mounted pawl, the latter being engaged by a suitable actuating member to release the bolt from the as-v sociated keeper. The latch mechanism also incorporates .means adapted to be actuated by a remotelyvcontrolled inside door handle and additional means adapted to be actuated either by a key actuated lock cylinder or by an interior lock button to suitably actuate and control the latch mechanism. i

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock of this type which can be used either as a front door lock or a rear door lock by the change of a single part of the mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, particularly when consideredin vconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: i

Figure 1 is an elevational view looking toward one ange of the door lock case of a front door lock, with the other flange broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is an elevational view looking towardthe other flange of the door lock case, with the firs'twi'lange broken away and in section, and with the latch mechanism in locked position. A

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the locking lever moved to an unlocked position.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figures 2 and 3 but showing the mechanism in an unlocked and unlatchedposition as a result of the operationof the inside door handle.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the mechanism adapted for use vin connection with the rear door of a motor vehicle.

The embodiment of the invention shown is designed ice projection 24 adapted toengage the. teeth of the rotor 18 to prevent rotation of the latter in an unlatchingV direction. The arm 22 of the pawl 19 is formed intermediate its ends with a ange 26 adapted to engage a rubber bumper 27 carried by a ange 28 struck up from the edge of the mounting plate to provide a cushioned stop for the pawl.

The pawl 19 is adapted to be operated either 'by means of an exterior push button or an interior handle. The exterior push button (not shown) engages the upper flange 29 of a release lever 31 pivotally mounted upon the lower portion of the ilange 12 of the mounting plate by means of a pivot stud 32. Intermediate its ends the release lever 31 has a ange 33 overlapping the lower arm 22 of the pawl 19 to engage the latter and swing the pawl in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1 upon actuation of the release lever 31 in a counterclockwise direction by means of the exterior' push button. This action of course lifts the arm 21 and its depending projection 24 out of engagement with the ratchet 18 to release the rotor 16 for free rotation, permitting the'door to be opened.

Referring now to Figure 2 as well as to Figure l, it will be noted that a locking lever 34 is pivotally mounted upon the ange 13 of the mounting plate by means of a pivot stud 36. The lower portion of the locking lever 34 has an offset ange 37 forming a generally horizontal shoulder 38. The shoulder 38 is adapted, in the locked position of the locking lever, to be positioned beneath the lower flange 39 of the release lever 31 to block the latter and prevent actuation of the release lever in a direction to swing the pawl 19 to an unlatched position. Y

The locking lever 34 is adapted to be swung between between vthe locked position shown in Figure 2 and the unlocked'position shown in Figure 3. VIn the latter position it will be noted that the blocking tlange 38 is out of engagement with the flange 39 of the release lever so that the latter may be operated to swing the pawl out of latching engagement with the ratchet.

The locking lever may be swung between its locked and unlocked positions by means of an interior locking control (not shown) connected by means of a rod 41 to the oiset flange 37 of the locking lever and also by means of a conventional lock cylinder having a crank arm 42 engageable within a slot 43 in the flange 37 of the locking lever. As will be described hereinafter, the locking lever for the front door lock may also be moved from its locked to its unlocked position as the re- The flange 12 of the mounting plate The lock mechanism is provided with a rotatable i toothed latch or rotor 16 rotatably mounted upon the flange 12 of the lock mounting plate. The shank 17 of the rotor extends through the ange 12 and nonrotatably supports a toothed ratchet 18 at the side of the flange 12 opposite the rotor 16. The rotor 16 and ratchet 18 are formed with aniequal number of teeth. The teeth of the rotor 16 are adapted to engage a conventional keeper (not shown) mounted uponthe adjacent door pillar of the vehicle, while the teeth of the ratchet 18 are adapted to be engaged by a pawl 19.

The pawl 19 is in the form of a bell crank having arms 21 and 22 and is pivotally mounted upon the ange 12 of the mounting plate by means of apivot stud 23. 'lhe arm 21 of the pawl has a downwardly depending plate by means of a pivot stud 48. The lower arm 49 of the lever 47 has an 'abutment edge 51 adapted to engage the lower arm S2 of a bell crank lever 53 also pivoted upon the flange 13 of the mounting plate by means of the pivot stud 48. The upper arm 54 of the bell crank lever 53 has a bifurcated end portion 56 embracing the outer end of the upper arm 21 of the pawl 19 to insure simultaneous rotation of the bell crank lever 53 and the pawl.

It will be noted that counterclockwise rotation of the lever 47, as seen in Figure 2, under the actuation of the interior door handle, eiects a counterclockwise rotation of the bell crank lever 53 to move the arm 21 of the pawl upwardly out of engagement with the ratchet 18, thus releasing the ratchet and rotor and permitting the vehicle door to be opened. A spring 57 is anchored at one end upon the pivot stud 48 (which is nonrotatably mounted upon the flange 13 of the mounting plate) l the bell crank lever andthe interconnected pawl 19 in` a` direction to effect engagement between the pawlyand the ratchet. Y p ,v

It willbe noted,.in the case of the front door shown -irr Figures 1.to 4 inclusive, that the counterclockwise rota-j tion of the lever 47 and bell crank lever 53, under` the actuation of the interior door handle, results in' engaging the lower end of the arm 52 of `the bell crank lever with a stud 61 carried by the locking lever 34. This results, as best seen in Figure 4, in swinging' the locking lever 34 to an unlocked position simultaneously with the unlatching of the door. The stud 61 is in the form of a cylindrically headed screw insertable into a tapped hole 62 lformed in the locking lever- 34. The stud 61 may be removed and insertedinto an alternate tapped hole 63' in the locking lever when the lock is to be used in connection. with the rear door, as described later.

It.will also be noted that, in the front door, the locking leverwill automatically be moved to unlocked position, should. it be locked, by.V the closing of the door. The rotorv 16 and ratchet 18 are rotated in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Figure l when the door is closed, and the engagement of the ratchet teeth with the projection 24 of the pawl swings the pawl upwardly to automatically rotate the bell crank lever 53 in a direction to move the locking lever to unlocked position.

Referring now to Figure 5, it will be noted that the stud 61 has been moved to the lower hole 63 in the locking lever 34 in alignment with the lower return bentflange 64 of the lever 47V which is operated by the inside door handle. When the locking lever is in locked position, by reason of the operationof the inside locking button acting through the rod 44 upon the locking lever, any attempt to open the door by the inside door handle will be thwarted, since the attempted counterclockwise rotation of the lever 47 is blocked by engagement of the lower flange 64 of the lever with the stud 61, and since the line of force 66-passes beneath the pivotal mounting point 36 of the locking lever, the lever 47 cannot be operated to release the pawl. It will be noted in this connection that the offset flange 37 and shoulder 38 of the locking lever 34- engage the lower portion 67 of the release'lever 31 (Figure l) to'block any attempt to rotate the locking lever in this direction. This forms a safety feature in that children cannot open the rear door of the vehicle by the inside handle when the inside locking control is moved to a locked position.

It will also be noted that the removal of the stud 61 from the upper hole 62 in the locking lever prevents the automatic unlocking of the locking lever when the door is closed, since the lower arm 52 of the bellv crank lever 53 passes freely over the upper portion of the locking lever 34 when the bell crank lever 53 and the pawl 19 are actuated by the rotation of the rotor and vratchet during door closing movement. Thus, the rear doors can be locked by operation of the inside locking control and then closed, and then they will remain locked.

Thus it will be seen that the different requirements of the front and rear door locks of a motor vehicle can be met with a single door lock mechanism, simply by the alternate positioning of the stud 61. Economies in manufacture and assembly are thus obtained.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that `various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a latch mechanism fora motor vehicle door, an L-shaped support mounted upon said door adjacent an v edge thereof, a toothed rotor rotatably mounted upon one ilange of said support on one side thereof,` av toothed `ratchet on the opposite side of said support from said rotor and mounted for rotation with said rotor as a unit,

a pawl mounted on said support on the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage one of the teeth of said ratchet to holdl said ratchet` and rotor against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said ratchetupon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon the other flange of said L-shapedsupport and having a blocking portion engageable in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said'pawl from said ratchet, a manually operable lever pivotallyv mounted upon said` last mentioned flange', an intermediate lever pivotally mounted uponsaid other flange coaxially with said manually operable lever, said intermediate lever having a lirst portion engageable withsaid pawl and a second portion in -abutting relationship with a part of said manually operable lever to be rotated thereby in a direction to release said pawl from said ratchet, means for rotating said pivotally mounted locking lever between blocking and unblocking positions of said locking lever with respect to said manually operable release lever, and additional means on said locking lever in the path of move- Y ment of the second portion of said intermediate lever to rotate said locking lever from blocking to unblocking position upon rotation of said intermediate lever in pawl releasing direction, said additional means 'being remov- V able to permit movement of said intermediate lever independently of saidlocking lever.

2. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, an L-shaped support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge thereof, va toothed member rotatably mounted upon one ange of said support, a pawl pivotally mounted upon said. one flange of said support and adapted to engage said toothed member to hold the latter against rotation in one direction, a manually opera-ble release lever pivotally mounted upon said one flange of said support and having apart engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said ratchet upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon the other ange of said L-shaped support and having a blocking portion engageable in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said toothed member, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said other ilange of said support and having a pair of radially spaced abutment portions, an intermediate lever pivotally moun-tedupon said other flange of said support and having spaced parts adapted to engage ysaid pawl and one of the abutment portions o-f said manuvfrom said toothed member and move said locking lever to a position out of blocking relationship with saidfmanually operable release lever.v i

3. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, an L-shapedl support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge thereof, a toothed member rotatablyrmounted upon one ange of said support, a pawl pivotally mounted upon said one flange of said said support and adapted to engage said toothed member to hold the latter against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said one flange of said support and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said ratchet upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon the other'. flange of s'aid L-shaped support' and having a blocking portion engageablev in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said toothed member, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said other ange of said support and having a pair of radially spaced abutment portions, an intermediate lever pivotally mounted upon said other ange of said support and having spaced parts adapted to engage said pawl and one of the abutment portions of said manually operable lever, and abutment means on said pivoted locking lever adapted to be engaged by that one of the abutment portions on said manually operable lever which is not in abutting relationship with said intermediate lever.

4. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, an L-shaped support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge thereof, a toothed member rotatably mounted upon one ange of said L-shaped support, a pawl mounted upon said one flange and adapted to engage said toothed member to hold the latter against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said one ange and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said toothed member upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon the other ange of said L-shaped support and having a blocking portion positioned in vertical alignment with the pivotal mounting of said locking lever in one position of said locking lever, said abutment portion in said position of said locking lever being engageable with a part of said manually operable release lever to block the latter and prevent rotation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said toothed member, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said other flange of said support and having a pair of vertically spaced abutment portions, and moveable abutment means on said locking lever selectively moveable between two positions in the path of movement of the two abutment portions of said manually operable lever, the direction of torce application between the two abutment portions of said manually operable lever and the corresponding positions of said abutment means on said locking lever passing on opposite sides of the axis of the pivotal mounting of said locking lever on said support.

5. ln a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge there'- of, a toothed member rotatably mounted upon said support, a pawl pivotally mounted on said support and adapted to engage said toothed member to hold the latter against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said toothed member upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a blocking portion engageable in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said toothed member, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a pair of spaced abutment portions, connection means between said manually operable lever and said pawl, and abutment means upon said locking lever selectively moveable between two positions in the paths of movement of the two abutment portions of said manually operable lever, the direction of force application between the two abutment portions of said manually operable lever and the corresponding positions of said abutment means on said locking lever passing on opposite sides of the axis of pivotal mounting of said locking lever on said support.

6. ln a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, a support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge thereof, a toothed member rotatably mounted upon said support, a pawl pivotally mounted on said support and adapted to engage said toothed member to hold the latter against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said toothed member upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a blocking portion engageable in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said toothed meinber, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said support for shifting said locking lever from a non- 'blocking position to said one position, said locking lever and said manually operable lever having cooperating a'butment portions, the line of force application between said abutment portions passing between the pivotal mounting of said locking lever on said support and the blocking portion of said locking lever, said locking lever abutment portion in locking position blocking operation of said manually operable lever.

7. The structure dened by claim 6 which is further characterized in that means are provided for independently rotating said pivotally mounted locking lever between blocking and unblocking positions of said locking lever with respect to said manually operable release lever, the abutment portion of said locking lever in the unblocking position of said locking lever being oiset with respect to the abutment portion of said manually operable lever to permit movement of said manually operable lever in lock releasing direction when said locking lever is in unblocking position.

8. In a latch mechanism for a motor vehicle door, an L-shaped support mounted upon said door adjacent an edge thereof, a toothed rotor rotatably mounted upon one ange of said support on one side thereof, a toothed ratchet on the opposite side of said support from said rotor and mounted for rotation with said rotor as a unit, a pawl mounted on said support on the same side as said ratchet and adapted to engage one of the teeth of said ratchet to hold said ratchet and rotor against rotation in one direction, a manually operable release lever pivotally mounted upon said support and having a part engageable with said pawl to swing the latter out of engagement with said ratchet upon actuation of said lever, a locking lever pivotally mounted upon the other ange of said L-shaped support and having a blocking portion engageable in one position of said locking lever with said release lever to prevent actuation of said release lever in a direction to release said pawl from said ratchet, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted upon said last mentioned ange, an intermediate lever pivotally mounted upon said other flange coaxially with said manually operable lever, said intermediate lever having a rst portion engageable with said pawl and a second portion in abutting relationship with a part of said manually operable lever to be rotated thereby in a direction to release said pawl from said ratchet, means for rotating said pivotally mounted locking lever between blocking and unblocking positions of said locking lever with respect to said manually operable release lever, said manually operable lever being provided with an abutment portion radially spaced from said part of said manually operable lever which is arranged in abutting relationship with the second portion of said intermediate lever, and a shiftable abutment on said locking lever selectively moveable between two positions, the abutment on said locking lever in one position being in alignment with a part of said intermediate lever and in said second position being in alignment with the last mentioned abutment portion of said manually operable lever.

References Cited in the tile of this patent' UNITED STATES PATENTS 

